Pinterest and Instagram Add New Features, Look to Drive Business Outcomes for CPG Brands June 17, 2015

Written by: Jake Schneider

June proved to be a huge month for Pinterest and Instagram, as both platforms introduced the phrase “action oriented” into our lexicon. Over the past year, both platforms have been making strides to enter the digital media space with Pinterest’s “Promoted Pins” and Instagram’s “Sponsored Posts” as introductory offerings; however, both are falling short beyond brand awareness in aligning to business outcomes for marketers.

Pinterest has long been a passionate community, and particularly for DIY. According to a PriceGrabber survey, more than 70 percent of Pinterest users claim that cooking inspiration and recipes are their number one interest on the platform.

Pinterest added a search functionality to make it easier to be discovered, but the introduction of the “Buy It” button is a huge step for CPG brands in closing the loop that started with “Promoted Pins.” Now with Pinterest you can holistically inspire, promote discovery, and purchase direct from the platform within a few clicks, giving CPG brands another potential storefront and point of entry for commerce.

Pinterest is only making the “Buy It” button available through mobile for now and has limited it to a few of their partners. There is a waiting list, however, and we suggest you get on it.

Coincidentally, Instagram introduced us to their new suite of offerings for their platform the same week. Instagram initially entered digital media via sponsored posts with a few exclusive partners a year ago as they built out their media narrative and offerings. This recent unveiling takes Instagram from peripheral, brand-awareness centric content to something much, much more.

For Instagram, the emphasis is on quality of content and narrative with CPG brands playing on the same level with users and the best content surfacing to the top. With “Carousel,“ Instagram takes the user out of the single moment snapshot and throws them into an immersive experience with multiple pieces of content to provide inspiration or to better tell a story.

Carousel is still a continuation of brand, something Instagram has long been known for, and something that has taken them out of consideration when focusing energy and effort on driving to business outcomes.

Instagram elevated themselves from peripheral to near primary with their action-oriented buttons. Brands can now direct their audience to add “Shop Now,” “Install Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Learn More,” directly through the app, making it a true channel for actionable outcomes.

CPG brands can now promote discovery, inspire, and inform this passionate and massive audience while directing them to take deeper action, whether that is downloading a brand app, e-commerce, or other promotions.

Like Pinterest, Instagram is only allowing a few of their partners to leverage their offerings before making them open through power editor to advertisers.

Needless to say, these bold — and welcome — moves for each platform both ushered in offerings for brands without diminishing the user experience.